An assembly of the Organization of the Waorani Nationality of the Ecuadorian Amazonía (ONWAE) resolved not to honor the contract signed by ex- president, Armando Boya, with the NGO Ecuadorian Sustainable Development Fund (FED).

According to the public usufruct agreement, ONWAE gave usufruct rights of 793,000 hectares of their territory to American citizen Daniel Roscom.

The agreement is contained in the notarized document at the Thirty-Second Notary in Quito. This document was signed by Fabian Moreno, who acted as special representative for the Waorani. This newspaper tried to obtain Moreno's version, but it was not located in the offices of FED nor in Puyo, where it is assumed to be held.

The assembly happened in the middle of February in Tena ( Napo). More than 200 delegates from villages located in the provinces of Napo, Pastaza, and Orellana participated. However the leaders disclosed the resolutions only yesterday.

The Waorani conclave had 60 elders present, who recommended that Council of Government care for their environment.

With this intention, they did not recognize in total and final form any agreement or commitment that the leaders, both past and present, have signed with various organizations but principally FED.

The agreement already had critics. This past January it was denounced by the ex-president of ONWAE, Eungime Enquere, on the grounds that the leadership wanted to mortgage 612,000 hectares. Enquere stated that "the only beneficiaries have to be the transnational forest species companies."

In response, the ex-president of ONWAE, Armando Boya, stated that he respects the resolution of the Waorani assembly. However, he also clarified that the agreement was not a mortgage and emphasized that "that is prohibited by the constitution."

Boya clarified that the project involved the training of 32 Waorani youths and a million dollars per year in resources. He insisted that it was not about an agreement but only a compromise through which an investigation would be prepared about the flora, fauna, and water resources in all of the Huaorani territory.

The council of Waorani elders, in addition, prohibited the entrance of strangers into their territory.

The warning is directed at the delegates of the organization FED, with whom they signed the agreement.

“If they dare to enter without authorization, they will be speared (attacked with spears)," stated several of the leaders.

The prohibition is directed at loggers from Colombia and Ecuador. It is to avoid the groups and organizations that cause division amongst the Waorani population in order to gain benefits from the natural resources.

The Waorani elders made a call to the unit of leaders, mainly the ex-presidents of ONWAE. The advice was welcomed by all of the directors and Waorani inhabitants.

Moi Enomenga, the vice-president of ONWAE, stated that from now on only the Waorani will represent this nationality. There will not be intermediaries nor non-governmental organizations, nor community representatives.

The Waorani assembly prohibited the leaders from entering into new dialogues with oil companies, non-governmental organizations, or miners or loggers.

The leaders will not be able to sign any agreement without first informing the communities. However, agreements already signed (such as the agreement with the oil company Repsol) will be honored.

The prohibition also includes the creation of videos about the life of this indigenous nationality. "As Waorani, we are able to count our own history because we are capable of doing this," says Moi.

Luis Macas, the president of CONAIE, recognized that this is not the only case of this type to be detected in the indigenous territories. As an example he cited the problems with the town of Shiviar, where the residents cannot fish or hunt on their lands.

"We are enabling the communities to know the real value of their territories, so that they are not allowed to be surprised by NGOs and private companies."

A Vulnerable Area

Yasuni National Park has an area of 982,000 hectares. It is in the Huaorani territory in the Napo and Pastaza Provinces. It includes the Intangible Zone where the Tagaeri and Taromenani live, which are communities that have not been contacted by the Western world.

The Environment Ministry was invited to come to Tiguino at the end of the month. The government is committed to finding an agreement that avoids timber extraction in Yasuni National Park and the Intangible Zone.

From now on, this nationality replaces the "H" with "W" in the name of its organization. The "H" is not used in the language of the Waorani, which is called Waotededo.